Jeff Gordon is the center of attention as he is driven through the crowd after driver introductions, before the start of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, February 22, 2015.

Jeff Gordon is the center of attention as he is driven through the crowd after driver introductions, before the start of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, February 22, 2015. (Joe Burbank, Orlando Sentinel)

The hits keep coming for NASCAR.

And not in a good way.

Jeff Gordon’s crash in Atlanta on Sunday – when his Chevy slammed into an unprotected wall – underscores an escalating issue concerning driver safety. In a sport where speed is at a premium, NASCAR is on slowpoke city when it comes to protecting its biggest assets:

The drivers.

“I am very frustrated with the fact there are no SAFER barriers down there,” Gordon said. “I knew it was a hard hit. I was like ‘man I can’t believe…’ I didn’t expect it to be that hard. Then I got out and I looked and I saw ‘oh wow big surprise I found the one wall here on the back straightaway that doesn’t have a SAFER barrier.

“I don’t think we can say any more after Kyle’s (Busch) incident at Daytona. Everybody knows we have to do something and it should have been done a long time ago. All we can do now is hope they do it as fast as they possibly can.”

Busch hit an unprotected wall in Daytona prior to the Daytona 500. He missed the biggest race...

DAYTONA BEACH – So who had Danica Patrick and Denny Hamlin in the NASCAR Fight Pool?

Those two crazy kids just can’t seem to work out their differences when they go Racing With the Stars at Daytona. Things definitely got frosty during the Budweiser Duels Thursday night, and we’re not talking about the Florida weather.

Danica’s second incident with Hamlin in two days busted up her car, and put her in peril of missing the field for the Daytona 500. She was able to rally and finish 10th.

But she had plenty of leftover adrenaline after she climbed out of her Go Daddy car. Here’s the transcript, thanks to Nate Ryan of NBC Sports:

PS: The Honey and The Dude have great potential for a NASCAR sitcom. (See below):

Patrick: Seriously! You did the same (expletive) thing in practice. You did the same thing.

Hamlin: I didn’t hit you. Honey, I did not touch you.

Patrick: You get on my left rear and spin me out. You did the same thing.

But he’s not exactly a social media icon. It's understandable that a 77-year-old man isn't in touch with all the modern do-hickeys, but Petty takes it to a level that’s amazing, even for his age.

“I don’t even carry a telephone,” he said. “I look at it if it’s important they’re going to find you, so there’s no need for me looking for them.”

His son Kyle Petty got a chuckle recently when The King said to him: "There's a lot of bad things on 'Faceplace' being said about you."

“If you give me a computer, the only thing I know is to stick the cord in the wall,” The King said a few years back for a piece I wrote on his 75th birthday. “After that I'm out of here. I've lived all this life without it. I'm just not interested in that part of society's change.

"Everybody carries [a] Blackberry with all that information in it. This is my Blueberry (holding up a business car that folds). This is what I'm supposed to do, where I'm supposed...

A judge has ordered NASCAR driver Kurt Busch to end all contact with ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll

A judge has ordered NASCAR driver Kurt Busch to end all contact with ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll (Terry Renna, AP)

Kurt Busch is still a go for the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

But he has a tentative grip on his No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS.

Busch has been ordered by a Delaware judge to stay away from his ex-girlfriend. Patricia Driscoll, under a protective order that also requires him to undergo counseling. The judge made the ruling on Monday.

He must maintain a "practicable" distance away from Driscoll, set at a distance of 100 yards except in events at NASCAR tracks and other locations where that distance would be impossible to maintain.

As of now, Busch remains good to go in the Great American Race.

“NASCAR has been closely following the civil proceedings in Kent County (Del.) Family Court regarding driver Kurt Busch and therefore is aware of the court order issued today,” NASCAR said in a statement issued Monday. “We now await the full findings of the Commissioner and any actions by the Attorney General of Delaware related to the allegations against Busch.

Mike Tyson will be at the Hampton Coliseum on Friday for Spike TV's "Glory Kickboxing."

Mike Tyson will be at the Hampton Coliseum on Friday for Spike TV's "Glory Kickboxing." (Spike)

Happy 25th anniversary to James “Buster” Douglas, one of the greatest one-hit wonders of the world.

On Feb. 11, 25 years ago, he knocked out the guy they called “Iron Mike” in Tokyo to win the heavyweight championship of the world. Mike Tyson took it on the chin, in what I consider the most stunning upsets in boxing history.

I wasn’t there that night, but covered a number of fights featuring both fighters in the years to come. That included the loss to Evander Holyfield that stripped Douglas of his heavyweight title in 1990. Douglas – with the exception of Tyson – remains one of the most compelling athletes I’ve covered.

He only held the title for eight months and two weeks. Douglas was ill-prepared for the fame, fortune, and the demands of being heavyweight champion of the world.

As I wrote in 1999:

“Fame flickered in a heartbeat for James ``Buster'' Douglas, the man who stood up to boxing's tenacious bully one fateful night in Tokyo.